June 14

I just completed listening to the songs of Chandramukhi once more. To be frank, except for the intro song, the other numbers did not sound impressive to me when heard for the first time. The album was pretty much ordinary and there was nothing to rave about. But on repeated hearing, some of the songs sound really interesting. Again, the objective of this blog is not to review the songs.

This being a Rajni movie, the other artistes who also played their part exceedingly well in making this film a success are not getting the due recognition. Really wonder if it augurs well for the industry. In a way, it is good that Rajni rarely comes on-screen these days. Let me talk about the people who deserved better for this movie:

Vidyasagar - This guy had a huge responsibility on his shoulders. The expectations were very high since Rajni was coming back after an hiatus. I would say he did not let down the people. The album may not be termed as "best ever" but nevertheless impressive. The songs are all on the melodious side which is great considering the fact that we mostly get to hear cacophony in the name of songs these days.

Jyothika - She played the title role and surely deserves more credit for her performance. Again, she also would have had pressure coming behind Shobana's and Soundarya's stellar performances. This can be termed as one of her best-ever, if one were to write an appraisal for her. In Jyothika's case, I would agree to some extent that her performance is being talked about. But, she would have been the talk-of-the-town had this not been a Rajni movie and also had her makeup in the movie been a little down-played.

Binni Krishnakumar - If you ask who is it, you cannot be blamed. Singing the most important number of the movie in an entrancing style and not getting the due credit, hmmm... life is too difficult for some people. All these days, I was under the impression that this one was by Chitra. Googling on Binni did not yield much results except that she sang this number. There was this one link talking about her credentials. Looks like Chandramukhi is her first tryst with filmdom. How I wish it is not her last. Raa Raa, Binni.

There could be others too who i have not mentioned here but still deserve a better deal. Why are their performances not prominently mentioned. Where is the fault?

June 13, '05

Su|Do|Ku...

A puzzle that is being published daily in "The Hindu".

I read the article in "The Hindu" few months back on how this puzzle game has ignited profound interest in Japan. People have become crazy about it.

If you ask me to say in a word...I would term it as superb - for the simple reason that it is years since I did calculation in mind. I feel that my gray cells have got rusted. I need to accept the fact that I take time to calculate things. When I find my mom calculating tables even after 30 years of schooling and I fumbling for a multiplication of 13, is really exasperating!! But these puzzles are refreshing (b'cos they are simple :-))) and gives the confidence that I am not far behind and that I can actually gear up to speed.

Ok..here are the details.

First of all, there is absolutely no math involved in it. It is a 9*9 grid and we need to fill in the grid such that every row and column and every 3*3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

As stated in the web page, it is fun, it is challenging and more, it is addictive.

Try your hands at - "SU|DO|KU"

This rhymes with "Soduku" of tamil right!!